Clafoutis d'épinards, de pommes de terre, et de poulet

Here's a photo of this clafoutis after it spent the night in the refrigerator. It slices more cleanly when cold.

Thaw a package of frozen spinach in the microwave. Meanwhile, dice and sauté about three medium-sized potatoes in butter in a big pan. When the potatoes start to brown and go tender, push them to one side of the pan and put the spinach in with them.

Cover the pan and let the potatoes and spinach heat up together. Pour the vegetables into a baking dish. Sauté a diced chicken breast in the same frying pan and add the cooked chicken to the baking dish with the épinards and pommes de terre.

Make a clafoutis batter using:

• 4 whole eggs
• ½ cup flour (60 grams)
• 1 cup whole milk (or
    half & half)
• grated nutmeg to taste
• salt and pepper

Whisk the flour into the eggs, then add the milk or cream to make a smooth mixture. Optionally, add some herbs (basil, oregano).

Pour the batter into the baking dish over the vegetables and chicken. Stir gently so that the batter is well distributed. Dot the top of the mixture with chunks of fresh goat cheese (it's okay if the cheese crumbles a little). Push the pieces of cheese down into the batter so that they are almost covered.

Bake the clafoutis in the oven at about 325ºF (160ºC) to give the batter time to cook through completely. After about 30 minutes, turn the heat up, or turn on the broiler, to brown the clafoutis on top. Serve hot or warm (using a big serving spoon), or cold (sliced).

This is the kind of goat cheese I used in this clafoutis (or "crustless quiche"). Buchette just means "little log" and nature means "plain" (no herbs or spices). It's made here in the Loire Valley. It's a pure white, sort of grainy, crumbly cheese that is not aged but sold fresh. Walt and I prefer the Loire Valley goat cheeses to the creamier, sort of Camembert-style goat cheese logs made south of here in the Poitou region (Soignon is a well-known brand). You could use cream cheese, a flavored cream cheese  like Boursin, or mozzarella instead. Or just put some other grated cheese that you like in the batter.